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NaNoWriMo Newbie Update: I'm a Plantser

As I write this post late Monday evening, I have 37,000 words down and 13,000 words to go. My purpose in participating in the NaNoWriMo challenge wasn’t to become a published author, although who wouldn’t like that? I wanted to try on the feeling of being an author of a book. And right now it feels like a full-time job. Trying to balance family and school and book writing is much harder than getting the words on the paper. I think it helps that I’m more of a pantser than a planner. I think I am a plantser. I am a planner in that I have an overall road map of where I’m going and a general destination. But I do fly by the seat of my pants and let characters lead me. I also try to hit the suggested daily word count goal. The NaNoWriMo site allows you to create a profile and add your daily word count and graph your progress. For me, this has been motivating and essential in helping me to manage my time. And I'm learning a ton about what it takes to write long and strong. One of the best parts of the challenge has been to receive pep talks from other writers about writing. I found Chris Cleave’s to be particularly inspiring.

7 comments:

Bravo Diana, This is the first year in 4 that I had to back out of my NaNoWriMo challenge. And yes, it IS a full time job. But it's great to have that Word Count and writing buddies... Keep going you are almost in the home stretch. Happy holidays,Bonnie

I am proud of you Diana. Bravo for staying in there, through the family & job & everything else, even blogging on Tuesdays! I like that you shared the piece by Cleave. It is motivating, especially when he says that there is no bad day at the keyboard. Thank you for sharing what has been helpful to you. Best wishes! Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, I'm just starting to slice and get in the habit of writing (for me and not for school) more often... Although I have to write academic papers one after the other, I can't even imagine what 37000 words looks like. Bravo, and keep up the good work!

I love your invented word description of yourself: Plantser. It is clever and shows just how reflective you are about everything you do! Consider this a pat on the back for taking on the challenge and sticking with it!